Apparatus for covering cores



1. JANICKI. APPARATUS FOR COVERING CORES.

7 APPLICATION FILED Maze. 1917. Patented M33724, 1921.

s SHEETS-SHEET I.

John Jam'clri J. JANICKI. APPARATUS FOR COVERING CORES.

APPLICATION FILED DEC.26, 19H.

mm M W ,u r m 0% Wm mJ Mm U W.

m 3 I'll o m IHH P I I I I I I m WJ J JANICKI. APPARATUS FOR COVERING CORES.

APPLICATION EILED DEC.26 1917- 1,378,961 Patented May 24, 1921.

' 3 SHEETS-SHEET 3 6 44 miniiiiii, I

m nimum- JI'NIIIHIIH 9,

um reo STATE S PATENT-OFFICE.

JOHN JANIGKI, 0F cnrcneo, InnINoIs, AssIeNOR .ro WESTERN ELEOmRIc eOMPANY,

INCORPORATED, on NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION on NEW YORK.

ArrnRa'rUs EOR cOvERrNe GOREs.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that 1-, JOHN JANIQKI, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of such as wire, with tape, resides in the lack of control of the tape serving mechanism, especially so when fragile tapes such as paper are used. This lack of control results in the application of varying degrees of tension on the tape which causes frequent inter:

ruptions because of the tearing of thetape during the operation of serving it to the 1 One of the objects of this invention, therefore, bonsists in the production of an improved apparatus for tap lying covering tape to cores, in which t e tape serving mechanism can be absolutely controlled'and in which the tape is laid: on' the core by a combined wrapping and troughing action.

Another object comprises the production of an improved apparatus in which the tape is subjected to a uniform tension as it is applied to the core andwhereby the tape will not be subjected to excessive tensions by rapid accelerations inherent in the commer- 'cial operation of substantially all apparatus of this type. v v

A further object consists in the production of an improved apparatus in which the amount of tension to which the tape is sub jected may be readily adjusted and 'controlled. I

Other features reside in the production of improved tape pad or disk mounting means, tape serving means,core guiding means, and

othersto be pointed out in the following-description and the appended claims.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Specification of Letters Patent. Pa,tented M 24 1921 Application filed December 2 6, 1917. Serial NO. 208,837.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the wire serV- ing pedestal;

. Fig. 8 is a plan View partly in section of, the rotating flier; v

F g. 4 is a front elevation thereof;

Fig, 5 is an enlarged fragmentary front elevatlon illustrating the tape tension controll ng means;

Fig. 6 is an end view partly in section of the operatmgand adjusting devices of the retarding mechanism taken. on the plane 6-6 of Fig. 5 and shows its relation to the brake sleeve and its cooperating disk, which have been shown outside of said plane;

Fig. 7 is an end view of the flier andwillustrates the tape and wire guiding and controlling mechanism;-

Fig. Sis an enlarged perspective showing the1 method of. feeding the tape to the wire, an

Fig. 9 is an enlarged sectional view illustrating the wire tensioning device.

The specific embodiment of the invention herein illustrated and described comprises a Wires'thus "covered are used extensively as conductors in telephone cables, and the like. Various different grades of'paper maybe papers vary considerably in their tensile strength, and consequently means must be provided in a machine of this type whereby the tension. on the paper may be regulated and positively controlled. The tensile strength of paper also varies ver-y perceptibly with atmospheric conditions, humidity tending to materially decrease thestrength thereof. Ifthe efliciency of the operatlon of insulating wire witha covering of tape is to be maintained at its maximum, it is essential, therefore, to avoid tearing thereof. Consequently after the permissible tensile strength, .to which a certain grade of paper may be subjected, has been definitely. determined,.it shouldbe maintained constant irrespective of other varying conditions in the used for such an insulating covering, which operation of the machine. This result among others is readily obtained by the machine herein described. Obviously, however, the invention is not limited to this preferred embodiment thereof, but is adaptable to many variations and applications without departing from its spirit and scope, as set forth in the appended claims.

As illustarted in Fig. 1, the apparatus consists of a machine base 10, on which are mounted the wire feeding and tensiocning mechanism '11, the rotating flier and tape controlling mechanism 12, the capstan 13, and the take-up reel 14. The wire 15 which is to be covered is fed from a coil 16 placed on the wire feeding pedestal 17, the center line of which in the operation of the machine is located directly beneath the end of wire 15 depending from the feeding and tensioning device 11 of Fig. 1. The coil and its associated pedestal have been moved to the right in the drawing to economize space. The wire is fed from the coil 16 over the guiding sheave 20, thence around and between the tensioning disks 21, after which it is given another turn about the sheave 20, and is then fed through the funnel shaped wire guide 22 to the wire guiding means situated in the rotary flier.

The wire tensioning mechanism 21 is illustrated in detail in Fig. 9 and comprises a shaft 24 mounted in the bearings 25. A sheave 26 is rigidly secured to said shaft between the loosely mounted sleeves 27 and 28. Rigidly secured to the sleeve 28 is the bell shaped disk 29. A like disk30 is rigidlysecured to the sleeve 27, the disk 30 being forced against the disk 29 under the compressive force of the spiral spring 31 inclosing the sleeve 27. The wire 15 as it is fed to the machine must pass from the sheave 26 between the contacting surfaces of the disks 29 and 30, and this will place a tension upon said wire, depending upon the compressive force of the spring 31.

The funnel shaped wire guide 22 functions to aid the operator in directing the wire through the opening 33 in the end hearing of the rotating flier. After the wire has passed through this opening 33 it is carried over a sheave or pulley 34 rotatably mounted on said rotating flier, said sheave 'having its outer peripheral wire guiding surface substantially in the axis of rotation of the rotary flier. From this sheave 34 the wire is guided to the sheaves 35 and 36 which are rotatably mounted on one of the lateral arms 38 of the flier. These sheaves 35 and 36 are located outside the axis of rotation of the flier and serve to guide the wire around the paper pad mounting and serving mechanism hereinafter to be described. The wire after leaving the sheave 36 is directed to a rotatable sheave 37' the outer peripheral wire guiding surface of which is substantially in the axis of rotation of the rotating flier, and from this sheave the wire isthreaded through a central perforation in a conical shaped projecting lug 39 secured to the ri 'ht end bearing of the rotatable flier. (See Figs. 5 and 8.)

The flier comprises the lateral arms 38 and 40 which are rigidly secured at either end to the rotatable shafts 41 and 42, both of which are suitably journaled in bearings such as 43, each of which is equipped with a ball race 44 and balls 45, whereby the frictional resistance of the rotating elements of the flier will be reduced to a minimum. Centrally mounted in the lateral arms 38 and 40 of the flier are the rotatable hollow shafts 46 and 47 respectively, the axes of which are in alinement and at right angles to the axis of rotation of said flier. The shaft 46 is rotatably mounted in the lateral arm 38, said mounting comprising the ball bearings 53, 54, 55, and 56; and the shaft 47 is rotatably mounted in the lateral arm 40, said mounting comprising the ball bearings 57 and 58. A cylindrical tube 60 is slidably mounted in the shaft 46, and a cylindrical tube 61 is slidably mounted in the shaft 47. A cylindrical rod 48 is slidably fitted in the tube 61. The inner end of the tube 60 is tapped to engage the threaded inner end of the rod 48 whereby said tube and rod may be connected in threaded engagement at 62, as illustrated in Fig. 3.

The shaft 46 carries a light dish shaped disk 63 rigidly secured thereto. This dished disk 63 is provided with a stiffening plate 64 which serves to strengthen said disk and prevent distortion or displacement thereof whenit is subjected to the high speed of rotation of the flier. Without this plate the disk might be distorted, due to the excessive gyroscopic action generated, and thus throw the rotating elements of the flier out of balance. The shaft 47 carries a disk or spider 65, the weight of which is substantially equal tothat of the disk 63, said shaft 47 being slidably fitted between the tube 61 and the ball bearings 57 and 58. The rod 48 carries the hand nut 66 whereby said rod may be rotated out of threaded en' gagement with the threaded end of the tube 60. When the threaded end of the rod 48 has been completely removed from the threaded portion of the tube 60, the rod48 may be drawn forward. In this movement the rod is drawn into the tube 61 until the threaded end thereof is flush with the end of the tube, at which time the enlarged threaded portion of said rod engages the shoulder 49 in said tube. Further movement of the rod will carry with it the sleeve 61, due to the abutting surfaces of said rod and shoulder. The rod and sleeve will then move together until the enlarged circular disk 51 on the end thereof is completely inclosedin a recess 52 fitted in the disk 65, at which time the ends of the rod 48 and the sleeve 61 and the inner face of the disk 65 will all be flush. Further movement of the rod 48 will now carry with it-the shaft 47 and the disk '65,"due to the abutting surfaces of the disk 51 and the recess 52, and this movementmay be continued until the hub 67 of the disk 65 has been completely drawn into, the recess 68 situated in the lateral arm 40 of the flier:

When the rod 48, the tube 61, the shaft 47, and the disk 65 have been thus withdrawn, a

. large opening intervenes between the opposing faces of the disks 63 and 65, and consequently in this position of the disks it is possible tointerpose therebetween a disk of insulating tape or paper, such as 70. Disks I of insulating paper such as 70 are ordinarily provided with a central aperture 71 for mounting'purposes. This central aperture 71 is preferably fitted over a series of projecting fingers such as 72 and 73 which are circumferentially arranged about the end of the shaft 46. Normally when the rod 48 is not inthreaded engagement with the tube 60, the circumferential fingers 72 all rest in substantially the same position as that shown for the fingers 73. The fingers 72 serve as l a clamping means for holding the disk 7 O in position, but obviously any suitable means may be utilized for this purpose. In the preferred embodiment illustrated in Fig. 3

the fingers are pivoted at 74 and a finger such as 72 is pivotally interposed between two projecting fingers 73, which are in-.

tegral with the shaft 46, all the way around the circumference of the disk.

-When the paper disk 70 has been placed in position so that the apertures 71 incloses the series of-fingers 72 and 73, the threaded portion of the tube 60 andthe rod 48 are brought into engagement and screwed up tight by means of the hand nut 66. When the hand nut 66 has been drawn up tight, the pad of paper 7 Ois rigidly held between the disks 63 and 65 and said pad 70 is firmly held and is in addition positively positioned by-means of the pivoted fingers 72. Thus during the last few turns of the rod 48 the disk 65 is held against movementbythe disk 63 and the interposed pad 70, and at this time the tube is moved forward. In this movement the inwardly projecting pins 7 5 of the fingers 72 will be moved forward by a grooved flange 77 integral with the tube 60, V and said pins will rotate these-fingers about their pivots 74 which in turngwill cause the forward protruding ends of the fingers 72 to securely-engage the outensurface of the aperture 71 in the pad 7 The screwing up of the hand nut 66 will consequently position the pad 70 centrally with respect to the axis of rotation of the rotating disks 63 and 65, will securely clamp said paper pad between these disks, and will interconnect the 'two disks by means of the rod 48 and the sleeve 60. When the paper pad'is thus mounted between the disks it is free to rotate with the disks which rotate about their ball bearing mountings hereinbefore described.

When the paper disk core is toube removed from the machine the first few turns of the hand nut 66 will release the fingers 72 and they will be retracted to their normal position-that is, the position always maintained by the fingers 73, due 'to the action of a spiral spring 80. The spring 80 is maintained under compression between an end its median diameters will be substantially in alineme'nt with the axis of rotation of said flange on the sleeve 60 and the bearing hous flier, the axis of rotation of the pad of paper 70 for the purpose of unrolling said paper being at right angles to the axis of I'OtatlOl'l of the flier. When the pad of paper 70 has been thus mounted in the flier the .paper can be unrolled therefrom and. guided about proper paper guiding mechanism to the position from which it is served to the wire.

The paper after leaving the pad is guided around the two rollers 81 and 82 of the tumbler roller mechanism 83, (see Fig. 5)

and from there itis guided over the lower surface of a spoon shaped projecting-finger 84 fromwhere it passes through an opening in 'the right-hand bearing of the flier,

operation ofsaid tumbler mechanism. The

tumbler mechanism 83 comprises arms 76 through which opening it is fed to the wire.

which carry the rollers 81 and 82. The arms 76 are rigidly secured to a rotatable shaft on which is also secured a plate 85 equipped with a nose 86 which engages a projecting plate 87 rigidly secured to a brake shoe 88 which rides on the inner surface of the up-' turned portion 89 of the dish shaped disk 63. v

into circumferential slots such as 95 in the semi-circular shaped plate 96 secured to the lateral arm 38 of the flier. When the proj ecting portion 94 of the spring 90 is rotated in a clockwise direction and inserted in anyof the slots 95 traversed in turning the protruding portion 94 in this direction, the force stored in the spring 90 is increased and the frictional contact between the brake shoe 88 and the surface 89 of the disk 63 is likewise increased. This mechanism consequently serves as a means for determining the amount of frictional contact which shall exist between the brake shoe and the surface 89 and consequently likewise determines the retarding force which shall be exerted against the rotation of the disks 63 and 65 and the inclosing disk of paper 70. This retardin force can consequently be readily adjusted for various grades of paper, the amount thereof depending upon the tensile strength of the paper which is to be employed.

The amount of this retardin force having been determined, it is essentlal that it be maintained constant. However, it will be evident that the tension required to unwind the paper from the disk 7 0 will vary between a large disk and a very small disk, the amount of force required to unwrap the disk being proportional to the length of radius of said disk, which radius constitutes the lever arm through which the force is exerted by which the paper is unwound from said disk. Consequently as the paper is unwound, the amount of force required to unwrap the paper from the disk will gradually increase. In order that the tension on the paper be maintained constant, it is necessary, therefore, that the retarding force exerted on the paper holding disk be gradually decreased in an amount equal to the increase due to the reduction in the size of the paper pad. This is accomplished by the tumbler roller mechanism 83.

It will be evident that as the force required to unroll the paper from the pad increases, the force exerted tangential to the lower periphery of the tumbler roller 81 will increase, which action will likewise be true of the upper portion of the tumbler roller 82, and consequently the tumbler roller mechanism 83 will be given a very slight rotation in a clockwise direction, depending upon the increase of said tension. The nose 86 of the plate 85 will therefore ride against the protruding plate 87 which will push back the brake shoe 88 against the action of the spring 90, thereby decreasing very slightly the frictional contact between the shoe and the surface 89, said reduction being equal in amount to the very slight increased tension exerted on the paper in removing it from the pad 70. The tumbler roller mechanism thus automatically reduces the frictional retarding action as soon as the tension on the paper tends to increase and thereby, serves as an automatic means for maintaining a uniform tension on the paper. Therefore when the amount of tension to which the paper can be safely subjected has been determined and the amount of said tensionhasbeen set by means of the spring 90 and its associated mechanism, this tension will be automatically maintained by the action of the tumbler mechanism 83.

After the paper leaves the tumbler roller mechanism, it is fed under the spoon shaped projecting lug 84. This lug is fitted with a convex paper contacting surface whereby the paper is given a troughed form just prior to the time that it is laid on the wire.

(See Figs. 8 and 5). The spoon 8 1 is arranged for vertical adjustment by means of the screws 100 and 101, whereby the angle at which the paper is fed to the wire from the troughed or spoon shaped piece 84 can be readily determined. Naturally the lower the spoon 84 is placed, the sharper will be the angle of application, and vice versa. The angle at which the paper should be applied to the wire depends upon the tensile strength of the paper which is being used.

The stronger the paper, the sharper will be the angle at which it may be applied.

. The apparatus may be driven from any suitable source, and for convenience in the drawing the driving means has been illustrated by the belt 103. This belt drives the pulley 'which rotates the flier. This driving pulley is fitted with a groove which carries a second belt 104:, which through a suitable reduction drives the belt 105 which in turn drives the capstan 13. This amount of reduction-that is, the relation of the rotation per minute of the flier as compared to the rotations per minute of the capstan, will determine the number of layers of paper applied to the wire per linear foot thereof.

In the operation of the machine, the wire is first strung from the coil 16 through the capstan 20 and the tensioning mechanism 21, and is then fed over the wire guiding "sheaves of the flier and thence through the wire will be advanced therethrough by the rotation of the capstan, the wire drawing with it the paper tape which will be unrolled from the disk 70. As the paper is with drawn from the disk 70 it is likewise rotated, due to the rotation of the flier,- and this rotation of the flier together with the paper serving and forming piece 84 will serve to lay the paper on the Wire in smooth even layers as said wire is drawn through themachine. Due to the shaping'action of the troughing piece 84, the paper, just prior to its application to the' wire, is given a semi-sleeve shape, and the action of applying the paper to the wire consists essentially in applyingthis semi-sleeve shaped surface to the surface of the wire and then drawing it taut by a wrapping movement due to the rotary action of theflier. After the paper is thus applied to the wire it is drawn through the sleeve 110 which removes any irregularities which may exist in the exterior paper covering.

The apparatus, as herein described, comprises distinct advantages, in that a fresh supply of insulating paper can be readily added to the machine without in any way affecting thewire guiding or drawing mechanisms. The apparatus also acts as a wire straightener,- in that the wire is subjected.

to a straightening action by the guiding sheaves through which it is drawn in feeding it to and from the flier. In this action.

the wire is subjected to two. twists, one on entering theflier and one on leaving the flier, which twists are in opposite directions,

and this action serves to straighten the'wire before the covering of paper is appliedthereto. .The tumbler roller mechanism' which automatically maintains a uniform tension on the paper is arranged for very great sensitiveness, being mounted cen- "veloped centrifugal force due to the rotation of the flier. Since the moving arms of the.

tumbler are maintained comparatively shortand frictional regulation is readily obtained with a very slight movement of the brake shoe 88, the angle throughwhich the tumbler must be displaced from the perpendicu lar to obtain the desired regulation is ex-.' 'ceedingly small.

ceedingly sensitive, therefore, at rotary speeds ashigh as 5000 revolutionsper min:

This mechanism is ex- Obviously the invention is not limited tothe specific apparatus herein illustrated and described, which constitutes but one of the many physical expressions of this invention, the scope and spirit thereof being set forth in the following claims.

' -What is claimed is: I

1. In a mechanism for covering wire with tape, a tape roll, a rotatable flier in which said tape roll is rotatably mounted, a wire to be served with tape from said roll, a

pressure controlled brake for said tape roll, a centrally pivoted arm operatively connected with said brake, and pulleys upon the ends of said centrally pivoted arm over which said tape passes inopposite directions to control the application and release of the brake pressure upon said tape roll in accordance with the tension upon said tape.

2. In a mechanism for covering wire with tape, a tape roll, a rotatable flier in which said tape is rotatably mounted, a wire to be served with tape from said roll, means for frictionally retarding the movement of the tape roll, a lever centrally pivoted in the axis of rotation of said flier, and means. whereby the tape is caused to exert pressure in opposite directions upon the ends of said lever to controlsaid frictional retarding means.

3. In a device of the'character described,

a rotatable flier, stationary wire guiding means situated at each end of said flier and in the'axis of-rotationthereof, a disk integral with and a disk'slidably mounted on shafts at ri ht an les to the axis of rotation of the fl1er,'s ai disks being operable to clamp a coil of tape therebetween with one of its'median diameters substantiall in the axis of rotation of said flier, means ric tionally engaging said integral disk, .a tape guiding means. comprising a pair of tum- 1 bler rollers, means for advancing said wire whereby said tape is served tosaid wire to completely inclose the same by the combined action of the revolving flier and/the tape idinglmeans, and means operated by said tumbler rollers which controls j the aforesaid frictional engaging means whereby said tape is subjectedto auniform tension as it' is withdrawn -from' said coil irrespec;

tive of the size of said coil;

4. In a deviceiof thecharacter described,

in combination, a rotatable flier, a tape disk mounting means associated with said flier having an axis of rotation perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said flier, a wire feeding means, wire advancing means for pulling the wire from said feeding means through said flier, means for retarding the rotation of the tape mounting means, a pair of tumbler rollers operated to guide said tape and control said retarding means, and 10 an adjustable tape guiding means control-'- ling the angle at which said tape is laid on said wire as said wire is advanced and the tape fed thereto from said disk.

In witness whereof, I hereunto subscribe 15 my name this 5th day of December, A. D.,

JQHIN JANICKI. 

